Of The Sniper, Of The Flames
by Sticky Barb
Summary: Although Victoria Island was freed, Raydan's adventures had only just begun. Venturing forth into the lands of Ossyria, the young Sniper is joined by friends and foes alike as he leads the fight against the remaining darkness - one one-liner at a time. [spin-off of Absol Master's Of The Dragon, Of The Stars]
1. Prelude to Awesomeness

Hi there! My name is Raydan, the Sniper extraordinaire of the guild Orion's Belt. If you've never heard of me or my guild, something's wrong with you… I'm just kidding. Chances are, you've never had the privilege of knowing the struggles of Orion's Belt in the quest to free Victoria Island. An author who I definitely do not know in any way whatsoever has conveniently chronicled our valiant revolution in the story Of The Dragon, Of The Stars. Her name is Absol Master, look her up. (Is she hot? I hope so.)

You should finish reading that before tackling this, but if you're anything like me and flee with tears dripping from a book with more than twelve pages (not literally), you can still read this. I may not be the best writer, but I'll try my best to write it in a way that newcomers can understand even if they missed out on the tale of our incredible journey… seriously though, check Of The Dragon, Of The Stars out. Makes my job so much easier. It has rebellion, blood, magic, explosions, blood, romance, blood, friendly fire…

If you've read it though, you'll realize a major flaw in the story. Something that cripples the story so bad, that it makes me wail like a dried Slime. There's too little me! All the characters get so much time to show off and develop their characters while I'm left to dry like a forgotten sock. It is as though the Goddess herself chose me to join Orion's Belt as nothing more than a plot device and comic reli- OH GODS SEND NOT LIGHTNING TO STRIKE DOWN THY HUMBLE SERVANT

All that aside, I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it, yada yada yada, all that boring author's note stuff. I already _know _you'll enjoy it, since I'm the main character and all that. Heh.


	2. Chapter 1

King Caleix was gone. Victoria Island was freed.

After spending decades groveling at the feet of a tyrant king, Victoria Island was liberated. The Spear of Heaven, the divine weapon forged by the Goddess herself, had pierced through the festering darkness at the core of the tyranny, banishing the shadows and bringing light to the world once more. The new king, King Shirion, one of the heroes of Orion's Belt that had fought for the freedom of Victoria Island's residents, was coronated, and the world celebrated for seven days and seven nights.

Then, Shirion ceded his power to the four Job Masters, as reconstruction efforts began. Though the struggle to reclaim Victoria Island was over, the fight to rid the Maple World of darkness was not. Ossyria, though relatively free of King Caleix's influence, sent reports of necromancer remnants razing towns and pillaging villages in last-ditch attempts to regain a foothold. Their numbers had dwindled greatly after the defeat of Darkness, yet some still clung to their fallen Master, their souls so tangled in the roots of evil that they still resisted the light of death. The tides had turned, however; once powerful harbingers of death and destruction, the necromancers had been reduced to haggard husks of their former selves, their powers of darkness weakened greatly. Even so, they were still a match for any adventurer, and a clean-up operation was organized to lance the boil before it could infect the body.

The infamous White Fang of El Nath, Lanoré, spent her evenings at the newly renovated Nightfall headquarters formulating strategies in between make-out sessions with Hyrien, Paladin leader of the guild Nightfall. Plans were announced to crush the necromancers thoroughly, to ensure they never again posed a threat to the world. It was amazing to the rebels how the rules had changed – once the hunted, now the hunter. Many fugitives who had spent their lives running from the king's guards joined the forces of the Night Hunters, and soon a veritable army was ready to be deployed across Ossyria. An attack force dedicated to eradicating the darkness, once and for all…

"But… why me?"

In the quaint little town of Henesys, a castle loomed over the horizon. The former residence of King Caleix, once a dark shadow reminding the people that they were under the rule of a tyrant king, was now a beacon of hope that brought a smile to the face of everyone who saw it. The castle was now a soup kitchen packed with homeless people who needed a warm place to be used as shelter, and the smell of delicious food emanated through the air. It was a fine time to be a peasant. But it was a bad time to be Raydan.

"Linn, why couldn't you have put him with Telida? He had that oath about loving her forever and some nonsense."

Ralinn was wearing a fancy green dress while Raydan wore a "ravishing" suit and tie. He told everyone that it was to look more official, but everyone knew he was just abusing the fact that he looked good in a suit. (Everyone also knew that he looked good in a suit.) "Why do I have to be teamed up with _Turino, _of all people?" he asked, looking at his sister with a pleading expression.

"We decided to put him with you because he's becoming antisocial." Ralinn huffed, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. "Plus, you did his hair during the Ludibrium ball, so you're more acquainted with him than any of the other leaders."

"That was _ages _ago!" Raydan exploded (not literally). "Now he's the type of guy whose every word sounds like something you'd inscribe on a tombstone. Zethis gets to go with Clynine, Lanoré gets to go with Hyrien, Telida gets to go with Ketara, but why don't _I _get anyone?! Since I'm going with Turino, shouldn't I get some extra karma points to get some fun company with me?"

"I'm not going to pull strings just so my little baby brother can go on vacation with his _girlfriend_," Ralinn said with a smirk. "It's Lanoré's decision, not mine. If you really feel so strong about it, you could just go talk to her."

The distraught Sniper facepalmed so hard, it was more of a facesmack. _"Linn, Lanoré left for El Nath this morning,"_ he deadpanned as calmly as he could considering the situation. "You're the king's girlf-" Ralinn's glare made him correct himself. "Okay, the king's fiancé. I'm _sure _you can make a few last-minute adjustments, right?" Raydan put on his cute-baby-brother face, which never worked, but there was no harm trying. "_Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaase-"_

Ralinn groaned, raising her arms in defeat. "Argh! Fine. I'll put Yunira in your group, okay?!"

_Victory! _"Aw, thanks, Linn!" Raydan exclaimed, crushing his older sister in a bear hug. "I'll never forget this as long as I live!"

"_Knowing you, you'll have forgotten it by dinner," _Ralinn muttered, but she still managed a smile. "I hate to do this, but since Mom and Dad aren't here… Dan, don't let your mischievous antics get you in trouble. This war isn't over yet!"

"I'll be fine!" the Sniper yelled, already scampering off happily. Ralinn sighed at the sight. No matter how Orion's Belt changed, her younger brother was a constant in their lives… for better or worse. And Raydan wasn't about to change that any time soon. The Sniper had read the newspapers, the books and the articles published about Orion Belt's victory and role in dethroning the king. And Raydan had been left feeling disappointed about how little a part he had played. All the one-liners and awesome battles he had fought had been left out in lieu of the other members – instead, he got boring parts, like delivering milk, riding yetis…

But he wasn't about to just kick back and be ignored. Oh no. He was going to prove that he was the _real _hero in this campaign. Raydan allowed himself a wicked grin as he dashed off to find Yunira, who was probably stuffing her face at the dining hall…

_I'll show them, _Raydan thought. _I'll prove that I'm just as much of a hero as the others are!_ He was thinking hard. Things died when Raydan was thinking hard.

Somewhere in Orbis, a necromancer felt a sudden, inexplicable urge to dig a very deep hole and hide for his life.


End file.
